Don't Piss Down My Back And Tell Me It's Raining

Most of us see some particular behavior as more unacceptable and damaging than any other. To call it a pet peeve is inadequate, but I suppose that is the best nomenclature available. The behavior that fills that role for me can best be described in a quote from the Clint Eastwood movie The Outlaw Josey Wales. Fletcher replies to a senator (does it really matter what he said, he was a senator so it was obviously bullshit) is, "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining."

The impetus for this article was a discussion I had some time ago with @inertia as to what I see as Steemit's implied purpose. Namely, to allow individuals to earn money by sharing quality content. My contention is that quality content has very little to do with what is going on at Steemit. Furthermore, I do not have a problem with that anymore than I have a problem with Apple making billions of dollars selling me products I wish were designed differently and profiting from it. What I have a problem with is the shell game, the fairy tales, the world of pretend. In short, the deception.

How is Steemit Not What It Seems?

I am obliged to explain why I feel Steemit's declared purpose is deceptive, but I do not want to get bogged down in the details as my primary purpose is to focus on the games we all play. Steemit presents itself with phrases such as, "Be appreciated for the quality of your work by the people you want to reach" and "Read through new posts and identify the best content to earn Steem Power and Steem Dollars". The truth is that this not what is going on much of the time. Indeed, I do not think that is really the primary impetus for Steemit. What I am positing here may seem incorrect to some readers, but I suspect those folks do not fully understand the implications of imaginary content generated by code, and the impact of bots, etc.

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Note: I actually wrote this as a draft months ago, but was reminded of it after recently discussing an interesting bot @inertia has written (see the comments as well). I am not saying I would not use the bot. I totally would if I had the inclination to mess with it. It just reminded me I had written this.

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Who Cares If Content Is Not King?

Again, I do not have problem with content not being king for Steemit. The irritation is that it is presented as if it is the primary goal. Yes, financial gain is clearly indicated, but if you put Steemit through the "Liar, Liar" machine it would come out saying,

"Go ahead and write great content, it may increase your chances of earning money."

"Many times poor content will earn more than your quality content."

"Computer generated content, posts about posts, bots, and other techniques distract from your content and earn money for people working very hard at not creating their own content."

I could try to defend this position further, but I suspect there are two groups of people that may read this, those that believe Steemit's feces emits the gentle aroma of lavender and those that realize there are some issues with how it is presented vs how it is executed. I am not inclined to sway any readers away from one group and into the other at this point.

But This Is Not Really About Steemit

With the understanding that a lot of readers may be offended at this point, please allow me to provide another example. After all, the point I am trying to make is not how bad Steemit is, but how bad piss being disguised as rain water is. A politician gets on television or the radio and announces that they are leading an initiative to raise taxes on sugary drinks because they care about the health of the citizens. Now the majority of people know this politician does not give two craps in a deep hole about anyone's health. The problem is that the human race is so comfortable playing the game that most of them would not know what to say if the same politician were to look them in the face and say, "We need more money so we are going to raise taxes on soda. It is as good a place as any."

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many people want to believe the lies so much, and are comforted by the fantasy they live in, that they will argue with you that the politician does indeed care about the health of its citizens. These layers of the deception are what are so dangerous about "pissing down my back", and why it bothers me more than the theft, I mean taxes. Until two or more human beings can agree on what is really the case no progress can be made in fixing problems, increasing the efficiency of system, or even enjoying reality right where it is.

So Always Say What You Mean?

All of this begs the question, "So I should never bend the truth? Ever?" I certainly think you could make a case for that argument. It would be consistent, as moral truth is very difficult to change with scale, perhaps impossible. However, for my purposes I am not talking about telling your wife that her dress does make her look fat. Deciding where this line of "white lies that facilitate the continuation of marriage" exists is beyond the scope of this post. Suffice it to say, the case of Steemit's presentation of its purpose and just about everything a politician says are on the wrong side of the line. Frankly, I feel like this line should be fairly easy to intuit, but I fear it may not be simply because humanity is so comfortable living in the matrix of lies.

Is There A Litmus Test?

This is dangerous ground indeed. As I attempt to think of some rules of thumb I keep coming back to the same place. Lying is always dangerous, and should be avoided at all costs. For instance, what if we said, "Is there gain or loss involved directly or indirectly? If so, you need to be very clear about what you are saying." Obviously, there is a lot more to these ideas philosophically and theologically, but for the love of all that is holy, "don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining", and if you see that I am sending a stream of urine your way feel free to let me know!